


Adorably oblivious

by kamelea



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Dorks in Love, F/M, Get together fic, Mutual Pining, Pining Amy, Pining Jake, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-05-20
Packaged: 2020-01-11 22:45:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18433652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamelea/pseuds/kamelea
Summary: Amy's pining for Jake. Jake's pining for Amy. And Rosa and the rest of the squad are sick of their annoying obliviousness of each other's feelings. Hopefully, working a case together will help them realize some things...





	1. Jealousy, turning saints into the sea

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I love pre-realtionship Jake and Amy, their fliritng and teasing and so on... and I hope you love them as well.  
> Enjoy!  
> (the title of this chapter is from one of my favourites The Killers' song "Mr. Brightside")

Rosa Diaz was enjoying her break in solitude until Santiago joined her in the break room. She was sitting there comfortably with her legs sprawled all over the table, and normally it would drive Santiago nuts ( _"It's just unsanitary - people keep their food there, Rosa."_ ), but right now she didn't seem to even notice. And that made the Latino detective curious.  
Rosa Diaz is a very good detective and she knows her squad well enough to know when something is off. And Amy couldn't be more obvious - she was upset. Probably nobody else would notice, even members from the Nine-Nine squad - she didn't act much different from usually. She poured herself a cup of coffee and even asked Rosa a question that felt very natural coming from her ( _"Rosa, can I have my stapler back? You borrowed it like 3 days ago."_ \- Rosa remembers throwing a stapler at Hitchcock the other day and it landed in his spaghetti, but she's not gonna tell Santiago that). Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but as stated before, Diaz is very good at her job as a detective and she sees some signs indicating that there is indeed something going on with her friend. For example, Amy's jaw is tightened, shoulders tensed and her movements somehow stiff. It was very subtle but Rosa recognizes this behavior - Amy tenses that way whenever she would get angry. Diaz knows that from the countless cases they've worked together - whenever something would go wrong, Santiango was tensing up and starting to act robot-like. Short and cut movements. So, that meant Santiago is angry at something (or _someone_ ). Let's just find out what is the trigger.  
Oh, Rosa is having too much fun with this riddle. 

In the meantime of her musings, Amy sat next to Diaz with her back to the door. Huh, that's interesting. And odd. Santiago would always choose a sitting that is facing the door - to have control over the situation. It was like a primary instinct for her, the whole squad was aware of that. Amy Santiago is a control-freak, type A personality. So, her not indulging in her fixation meant that the source of her misery is in the bullpen.

_That's almost too easy_ , Rosa nearly smiled smugly to her thoughts.

The whole squad is currently in the precinct - at first, the detective focused her gaze on Terry, who is dealing with somebody on the phone. Diaz doubted he was the reason of Amy's annoyance. They're friendly and respectful to each other and there's nothing really that Sarge could do to cause this reaction. And that made Rosa think of Gina - She loves to torture poor Santiago. But that's also a dead end - Gina's currently in a "text-trance", as the squad likes to call it - a state in which she doesn't pay attention to anything but her phone. Given the dumb look on her face, she hasn't looked up for at least 25 minutes. Rosa shifted her gaze towards the door to Holt's office. What about him? Maybe he didn't respond to Amy's chirpy 'Hello Captain' in the morning or ignored her compliment about his tie. No, that wasn't it. Rosa recalled that not an hour ago, Santiago left the Captain's office with her hands behind her back and a broad smile, announcing proudly that Captain Holt congratulated her on last arrest. And then Jake made a stupid joke about her excitement and their annoying banter had started and drove Rosa insane.  
_Of course! Jake!_  
She immediately draws her attention to Peralta's desk. And there is the answer Rosa Diaz was looking for this whole time - a quite good-looking dark haired lady, who's dressed quite boldly given it is the middle of the day - Rosa wouldn't wear such dress even doing an undercover mission. Although she had to admit that she didn't look vulgar. The dress was nude and VERY well fitted, but was complimenting this woman's features. Diaz could only see the upper body from the position she was sitting, but she could tell that this girl was well-equipped. And she was smiling flirtatiously at detective Peralta. Rosa smirked proudly and somehow deviously.  
So, the reason of Santiago's anger was jealousy. 

"Why are you smiling like that?" her colleague asks with curiosity and furrowed brows, looking almost disgusted. Rosa could smile really nastily.

"I'm just wondering whether Jake is gonna bone her." she answers her, pointing at the woman at Peralta's desk.

Usually Rosa doesn't give a damn about her friends' personal problems. So, imagine her surprise when she realizes that she wants to... mingle. Maybe it was because she wants to see Santiago suffer just a little, after seeing Jake so bummed out after the case with Dave ( _'Not dating cops - now that's some cowardly rule you figured yourself out Santiago.'_ ) or maybe she was just bored or irritated with her colleagues idiocy and obliviousness. Maybe she thought they just need a little push.  
As well as Santiago was hiding her emotions earlier, right now her face is as easy to read as a book. She looks horrified, surprised and nauseous at the same time - just as if someone just stuck a cane down her butt. That was such a funny look, Rosa almost snorted, but thought better of it.

"You think..Would he..." Amy was having a hard time enunciating. She was taking now quick and shallow breaths and her face went pale.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't!" Amy looks so offended, Rosa _almost_ believes her.

"Sure thing." she mutters, taking a sip of her water to hide her smirk in the cup.

Rosa could practically see the steam coming out of Santiago's ears. The room goes quiet for a moment. In the corner of her eye Rosa sees Amy's muttering something under her breath. Probably some calming exercise. She's just about to say something out loud, when Jake appears in the doorway.

"Hey, Santiago! Got a minute? I need your help." he pauses for a moment and tilts his head in curiosity "Why are you sitting with your back to the door? Aren't you afraid that someone would barge in and you wouldn't notice it in time, to stop him from killing everyone? You would miss your longly awaited hero-moment." he loves to mock her about every nerdy habit she has.

Apparently the calming exercise worked, cause it seems that Santiago just got a boost of confidence.

"I'm not the one in this precinct with a _'John McClane-complex'_ " she answers him with a teasing smile and a glint in her eye. She stood up and went past him shooting him a daring look. And Rosa really regrets at that moment being a witness to this scene, seeing Jake's face after Amy's comeback. The sexual tension was so obvious it made Rosa sick, and the look on Peralta's grinning face just confirmed that. It was a mix of admiration, cheerfulness and pleasure.  
"Ugh, just bone already" a quiet comment that lefts Rosa's lips, while giving her colleagues a disgusted look, seems not to reach Jake's ears as he lefts the room and follows Amy to his desk.

 

***

 

Jealousy is an awful emotion. It's eating a person alive and nothing good has ever come of it. And Amy is well aware of it, so she's trying really hard to fight that feeling off. Especially since she has no right to feel that way about Jake. He's her colleague, partner and most importantly - her _friend_. And Amy really values her friendship with him and hates herself for having all those... "romantic-stylez" thoughts about him.

_Geez, did I just think that? What am I turning into?_

This little crush on her partner was killing her (mostly because she knew how bad she screwed it up, and that now all that was left for her was his friendship). And just to be clear - she loves being his friend, her relationship with Jake is one of those she treasures most in her life. But the poor girl just wants something more... The worst part is that she realized it so late. Well, she has been thinking about him in that way for some time now, but she just didn't let her feelings be resurfaced.  
And there were multiple reasons for that. At first, she was in a relationship that she was content about (she should've known better, that a relationship, where she feels nothing but _content_ is not heading anywhere). When she finally got a grasp of her feelings for Jake, he met a dream girl (what a great timing) and she was really happy for him. And she would never do anything to jeopardize his relationship. So, with all of her inner strength she managed to stop herself from thinking about him in that way. Some time passed and Sophia broke up with Jake and he was left devastated. And in that moment Amy really, _really_ has forgotten about her "little" crush and just focused on being there for him whenever he needed her. Whether it was just a couple of beers at Shawn's or organizing a cop movies marathon as an excuse to drag him out of his apartment - she was happy to help him. And she felt somewhat satisfied with their dynamics. But something has changed since then - Jake has moved on and was back to his old self. And that was probably the reason Amy's now back to the point, where she has to deal with her _liking_ Jake Peralta.

And right now she really is struggling to keep her cool. Jake's currently taking a statement from a burglary victim, who happens to be a beautiful brunette with full lips, perfect makeup and long, thick and wavy hair. Usually Amy doesn't have any objections to her hair and appearance overall, but in that moment she basically feels her hair flatting as if backing away from any competition with this perfect woman's hair. She also regrets for a moment, that she didn't put the effort of applying the blush on her cheeks this morning (and her mum always says, that it gives a healthy look).

_Get it together, Santiago! You did not just spend the last 30 seconds comparing yourself to this... nice lady._

Pretending to be fully concentrated on the file on the computer screen in front of her, knitting her brows so hard it almost hurts, Amy's actually listening attentively to the conversation happening in front of her. Apparently someone broke into this woman's apartment the day before and she seems to be very shaken up about it. But also very flirty, if you ask Amy.

"So, Mrs. Evans..." Jake's about to ask her something about the case, but she cuts him off in mid sentence.

"Actually it's Miss" the smile she gives him is so sweet it made Amy nauseous "but let's just cut the formalities - I'm Jennifer."

That's when Amy decides it's the right moment to get the hell out of there, because she was just seconds from ripping those very important documents in front of her into shreds and throw them into Jennifer's pretty face. Instead, she goes to the break room to get some coffee - she seriously needs her brain to wake up and focus.

As it turned out that was a very bad idea in the first place, cause her conversation with Rosa just made her anxiety worse. Diaz implied that Jake might actually be attracted to this woman and that was too much to take in for Amy Santiago. She isn't stupid though - she suspected that Rosa was just messing with her and even knowing that, Amy wasn't able to hid her jealousy from her friend. She had to calm down and had to do it quickly. In order to do so, she started counting to 10 in whisper and tried to breathe evenly. Thanks to this routine, Santiago had just thought of a perfect excuse to change the subject, when Jake entered and started teasing her. And that was always the most efficient way to bring Amy back to herself. Banters with Jake usually were awakening in her such a competitive monster that all other emotions were shoved away to the very back of her mind. And as she felt, that she won that particular banter with Jake, it made her feel suddenly very confident about herself. Especially since the reason that Peralta came to get her was him seeking her help. And she would be happy to provide him with this help.

She walks confidently to his desk and sits in front of his computer. After introducing her to Jennifer, Jake presents her all the details about his case.

"So, there are some fingerprints from 2 different people all over the apartment, but the problem is the system didn't find any match. The only trail that I got so far is a photo from the camera from the store downstairs." he showed her a photo of a man in a hoodie, whose apperance is screaming 'I'm about to commit a crime'."I think that I saw this face somewhere, but I can't find it in the data base. I think that the quality of the photo is too poor for the system to find a match." seeing that Amy's looking at him with curiosity he quickly blurts out "And there is only one person that I know that is able to connect this face to a case." Amy felt her cheeks burning at his compliment. It wasn't anything personal, just him acknowledging her professionalism, but it still made the butterflies go crazy in her belly.

Amy looks closely at the photo, Jake has showed to her. The man in the picture has a scar on his left cheek, that indeed seems familiar. She's thoroughly examining his face and buried deep in her thoughts, trying to remember where did she see that man, when she hears Jake's voice calling her.

"Amy! Ames! Detective Santiago!" it was only when he did the impression of Captain Holt that she somehow emerges from her reverie and looks around (she couldn't stop herself from frowning seeing that "Miss Jennifer" was still present and looking at her inquisitively). "Amy, you were doing that weird thing with your eyes when you blink very rapidly as if you were about to have your system crushed down."

"Once again Jake, I don't find your "Amy-is-not-a-person-rather-an-operating-system" jokes funny at all."

"Oh, Santiago. Don't get angry, it causes so many glitches in your software" the fellow detective's mocked her, faking concern "Here, let me reset you." he was just about to press his finger to whatever place he thinks Amy's "reset button" is, but her furious glare stops him from doing it. She doesn't feel entertained at all, rather pissed as opposed to the other woman siting at Peralta's desk. Jennifer erupted in squeaky giggles like crazy and hid her mouth behind her hand in a way that, as Amy thought, was supposed to be adorable, but she found it rather false and creepy. Santiago could see from the corner of her eye that Jake lifts his eyebrow in confusion. He starts to shift from one foot to the other and it seems as if he got... nervous? What is that supposed to mean? Now it's Amy's turn to be wear a look of confusion on her face. Could it be that he was intimidated by this Jennifer? That her flirtatious giggle caused his reaction? She remembers very vividly Rosa's comments from not longer than 5 minutes ago, about Jake's possible interest in this lady. Suddenly Amy feels very out of place, as if being a part of a conversation that doesn't concern her. It's Jake clearing his throat that brings them all back to the task at hand and breaks that awkward silence.

"So, Ames? Does this man look familiar to you?" his voice was weirdly unnatural.

"Um, yeah, actually I think I might be able to locate a file that could help us identify him. I just have to go and find it." she quickly stands up, suddenly wishing fiercely to be in a room where her crush isn't currently flirting with other woman.

"Just tell me what case this was and I take it from here..."

"It's fine, Jake. I'm happy to help!" that tone was way too chirpy to Amy's liking, but right now she doesn't really care. She's backing out with a false smile plastered on her face, with gaze still focused on her friend in front of her, so she doesn't notice Scully's bag. And of course she has to tip over it and not so gracefully. What a day to be Amy Santiago! She could feel all people in the room fixating their gazes at her sitting on the floor. She even hears some concerned questions from the Sarge and Jake, but she decides to ignore them and preserve at least some of her pride. She stands up tall, dusts herself off and marches off the bullpen to avoid any other embarrassment.  
That wasn't a lucky day for Amy Santiago. And it wasn't the end of it.

 

***

 

"Captain" Jake knocks on Holt's door and not waiting for an invitation from the man, boldly steps in."I was wondering if Santiago could join me on this Evans's case."

Raymond Holt looked up at him from whatever important thing he was doing and even took off his glasses - a gesture Jake recognized as a display of interest.

"Can't you deal with it on your own, Peralta? Isn't it a simple break-in?"

"Well, our main suspect has been involved in his past in some crooked business, so this may be actually something bigger." to be honest, Jake doubted it was true, but every excuse was good enough to spend more time with his partner. "Besides, Detective Santiago has already started digging up the info about our perp's past...

Amy did in fact find some info on the man from the footage. She really is a brilliant detective. Not only did she recognise the man, she also managed to recall the case he was mixed up in. And if that wasn't enough, she also found the file with their suspect's profile. She's way better than any computer system.  
As it turned out, the perp's name was Christopher Moore and he was convicted of robbery 3 years ago. He had also some connections to a drug ring that Jake and Amy worked out a few years ago. That's how she recognised him. Apparently, he was released from prison 2 months ago. Jake was 97% sure that this man was involved in the burglary. So, all that's left for them to do, is to find the criminal and get him to talk and hopefully confess. As far as Jake remembers, the man isn't very bright.

"Fine, detective Santiago can join you on this case."

 

Jake did a mental jump of victory at Captain's words. His little plan did work out eventually. Although he does feel kind of stupid for looking for such a lame excuse to spend some time with Amy. But give the man a break, he really is struggling here. Ever since that unpleasant conversation with his partner about her rule of "no-dating cops" things were kind of weird between them. And even though Jake respects Amy's decision, he still wishes they could hang out together as friends. He really appreciated Amy's support after his breakup with Sophia. It has helped them to create a special bond, that he doesn't want to ruin with his stupid feelings towards his colleague. All he wants is to be with her, even only as her friend, feelings aside. He hopes that maybe working together on a case would help them break some of the tension and things would get back to normal. And hopefully, it would help him to avoid such embarrassing situations, as the one that happened this morning, in the future.

He teased Amy in front of a crime victim. Some might have even called it flirting - he almost flicked Amy's nose for God's sake! That is not maintaining a professional work environment, as Sergeant Jeffords would put it. Such behavior is unacceptable, even Jake Peralta knows that. The thing is, he really misses banters with Amy, so he seeks opportunity to tease her whenever she's in the same room. And in that moment he had totally forgotten about Miss Evans' presence at his desk. When he heard her loud laughter ( _Seriously, Jennifer - it wasn't that funny..."_ ) he froze in horror. It was obvious that Amy was freaking out in that moment because of his inappropriate behavior. So much about him fighting the awkwardness between them. Although, it did surprise Jake that Amy was so shaken up about this, she stumbled and fell on the ground. To be honest - he found this situation extremely hilarious, though he wouldn't dare to joke about it, after seeing her angry face.  
He was lucky enough that after everything she was still willing to help him with this case. 

After being given the formal approval from Holt, Jake approaches Amy's desk from behind with a cheerful step. The whole way from Captain's office, he spends musing about his friend today's appearance. He loves when she has her hair down and it doesn't happen too often. Thankfully, this morning Amy Santiago was feeling a bit crazy and decided not to tie her hair in a ponytail. Though now that he thinks about it, he finds her very attractive with hair tied in a ponytail as well. Or a low bun. Or messy bun. Ok, he doesn't really care about her hairdo. She's just awesome as she is with her black, shiny hair.  
He tiptoes her from behind and bends down, so that his mouth is almost grazing her ear and shouts with great joy.

"Guess who's officially helping me with this case!"  
Amy literally jumps in her seat, then turns to him in an instant, grabs his arm and pulls him forcefully on her desk.

"What did I say about sneaking up on me, Peralta?" she loosens her grip on his arm but doesn't let go of it yet.

_Dude, you really should stop pissing her off._ , as some wise voice is telling him in his head.

"I just got excited, we haven't worked together on a case for a while now and I kind of missed it. Please don't hurt me." he whines.

"You did?" she asks in awe.

"Santiago, are you blushing?" Jake inquires in a mockingly manner. That was a bluff, sure her cheeks were pink but that's probably just make-up.  
But her reaction to his words is priceless. Her grip is firm now, she presses him strongly to her desk, twisting his arm and brings her face so close he can feel her breath on his left cheek.

"You wish, Peralta."

Jake gulped. He doesn't think of himself as kinky or anything but that really turned him on. But he couldn't enjoy this moment for too long, cause he hears Rosa yelling something like 'Get a room' what makes Amy instantly let go of his arm. This time she's _definitely_ blushing. And it's not a delicate, girly flush - she's beet-red all over her face, as if she has just finished a marathon or triathlon even. Oh, it's quite a sight. Though, Jake decides not to torture his poor friend anymore and just walks to his desk grinning madly.

"What are you so smug about, Peralta?" she hisses under her breath.

"Nothing in particular. Just looking forward to work with you. It's gonna be so much fun."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me forever to finish, I was struggling so much editing it. Hope it's readable (if it's not feel free to point out the mistakes - I really want to improve myslef as a writer!;) )  
> I've almost finished the second chapter, so hopefully I'd post it next week :)  
> If you liked it, please leave a sign!  
> Kudos make me so happy and comments make me fly above the ground in euphoria :D  
> You can also find me on [tumblr](https://kamekamelea.tumblr.com/) \- if you want to say hi or share the thoughts on B99 or whatever topic you wish ;) it's @kamekamelea  
> See ya ;)


	2. Like a fool, I fell in love with you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thanks to all of you who left kudos and comments under the first chapter, it really means a world to me! This chapter is for you :) Enjoy! (and prepare for some pining!Jake, just saying...)  
> Title of this chapter comes from Eric Clapton's song "Layla"

As it turned out the fingerprints found in Miss Evans's apartment matched those of Christopher Moore. They had their prime suspect and some strong evidence it was him who committed the crime. Now all that was left for them to do, was to find the man. And that's probably the hardest part.

It was evening already and the detectives decided to go to the bar, that used to be their perp's favorite place to hang out those few years ago, when they worked his case. They checked all the other places stated in the old file; like his address at the time, his sister's shop and some more but all of these turned out to be a dead end. As if this man cut all of his ties to his past. Hopefully he was still a fan of cheap whiskey and shady company.

On their way there, they stopped at Amy's apartment though, for her to change - a gray pantsuit isn't the best undercover outfit for this mission. It's easier for Jake to blend in, especially since he did not put on a plaid shirt this morning. And that surprised Amy to this extension she even asked him about it.

"Isn't that your 'date' shirt or something?" she does the quotation mark with her fingers in a mocking way while eyeballing his gray shirt - he got rid of the tie and unbuttoned it a bit at the top to look more _'loosey-goosey'_ (he has no idea why did Amy make a face, when he used that expression).

"Very perceptive of you, detective Santiago. It is indeed my 'date'"he apes the gesture with his fingers with a goofy face "shirt, cause all my other shirts are in the biggest pile of dirty clothes the world has ever seen, waiting patiently to be washed. No worries though - I still have my 'court', 'funeral' and 'dancing competition' shirts hanging in my closet. So, I'm good to go for at least a week." he has no idea why did he sound so smug about it, and if the disgusted look on Amy's face is any indication, she isn't impressed by his actions either.

"There is nothing to be proud about it Jake. You are 35 years old - you should be capable of dealing with your own laundry." she's now scowling at him standing in her favorite power-pose she saw on the TEDtalk, with her hands resting on her hips and head slightly tilted towards him. Jake always has thought she looks adorable when reprimanding him about whatever stupid thing he has done - this time being his laziness preventing him from doing a simple chore as washing his clothes.

"It's not my fault Charles hasn't visited me in a while." Jake whines "He's always so happy to help me with my chores."

"I feel so bad for the next girl that ends up with you." she sighs with resignation, turning away from him to go and change in privacy of her bedroom.

 

Wow, those words stung. He suddenly feels very aware of his goofiness and immaturity. No wonder "her liking him back" is in the past - she must have realized all the flaws of his nature and decided that he's not the right man for her. And that awakening bummed Jake out even more than her stupid rule of "no-dating cops". 

He plops down on Amy's couch dramatically and hides his head in his hands. That's really bad. To think that it was just a single sentence to hurt so much. But the truth is, it wasn't about the words, rather the person, whose mouth those words left. Jake starts to wonder whether that's really how Amy sees his personality. He's always considered Amy a close friend, who gets him so well, but he's also aware of the fact that they are very different. It has always been a mystery for Jake, that there was a time when she did in fact like him back. But those times are gone. And the realization of it hit Jake as hard as if Amy has literally blown a punch to his face.

He straightens himself up and bases his head on the backrest of the couch, looking unhappily at the ceiling, contemplating about his behavior. And that's the position Amy finds him in, coming back to the living room. She's now wearing black jeans and a simple blouse that's sparkling delicately in the lights of the lamp. It's a very modest outfit, but in Jake's opinion it fits Amy well. She turns with her back to him, looking for something in her purse and Jake freezes with wide eyes. 

It's a backless blouse. Well not completely, but the cleavage of it is almost reaching her waist. And that means Jake should be seeing the hook of her bra, which is not _there_.

_May day! May day! Amy Santiago isn't wearing a bra! Abort mission! ABORT MISSION!_

Have somebody turn up the heater? Cause the room just got a lot warmer, if you ask Peralta. Jake could feel his palms begin to sweat and his mouth went dry. How long does it take to find something in a purse? Just turn already, Santiago.  
Of course, if he doesn't want to look he can just avert his gaze, right? But Jake Peralta suddenly forgot how to take control of his eyeballs or any other part of his body.  
And Amy must have felt his gaze burning holes in her back, cause she turns to him with a confused look on his face.

"Something's wrong? Is the outfit appropriate?"

Jake clears his throat and focuses all of his will power not to stutter.

"Yeah, you look great." 

"Thanks." she smiles softly at him and Jake feels butterflies in his stomach, seeing that his simple compliment caused Amy to blush. 

_This is gonna be a long night._

 

***

 

Jake has been acting kind of weird since they left her apartment. He's not very obvious about it, but Amy could see some signs. Like for example he didn't sing along to the song "What's up" by 4 Non Blondes when it came up on the radio and he ALWAYS does. It's on his karaoke list, that contains all songs with high notes that he mastered. Or so he claims.

And Amy wonders when did she learn all this about him.

He jokes around in the car, but Amy has a feeling that he's tensed - he holds the wheel firmly and he hasn't spare her one glance during their conversation. She can't help but feel a creeping curiosity at the back of her mind as to what could have caused this kind of behavior but doesn't dare to ask - she's afraid she might not like the answer. The uneasiness that hangs in the air is becoming suffocating and even though he mocks her as if nothing is out of the ordinary, she can sense a shift in their dynamics.

"We're here" he announces, as they park outside a creepy looking bar.

They go in, separately though, not to rise any suspicion - people engaging in shady business tend to have an excellent radar when it comes to sensing cops undercover. Amy sits by the bar, where she has a good view around the place. She can feel eyes on her, supposedly because there are not many other women around her age or without visible signs of drug addiction. This place is horrifying, it's no surprise though for detective Santiago. In the many years of her career as police officer she's been to places worse than this one and saw things that go beyond comprehension. By this point, she doesn't feel oppressed while surrounded by seedy criminals or intoxicated people who scream for help with their eyes. Besides, she's not alone. She has backup. And her backup is none other but her partner, Jake Peralta.

The best backup there is.

She can't see him at the moment, he's busy doing reconnaissance around the area, but she's certain his eyes never left her figure. In a professional sense of course.

Their plan is simple - they're gonna look around, and if there's be no sight of their perp, they're gonna start asking people. However, that part of the plan is mostly on Amy's side - perps usually are way more chatty while flirting. However, the thought of making any kind of conversation with those guys ogling her is quite loathsome. It's part of the job though, so she has to get over it. Knowing the undercover mission was probably going to lead to her 'wooing' some perps, she had thought through her outfit for tonight - it has to be sexy, but she also can't feel uncomfortable. And she always feels uncomfortable sensing the gazes of men with questionable intentions. That's why she settled for a blouse with as little cleavage as possible. The bare back compensates it anyway. Amy always feels very sexy with her back exposed - it's sensual and provoking, but not in an obvious way. It's classy but not slutty. Besides, if any of her converses tonight turn out to be pushy, her partner's got her back.

Her eyes sweep the room, looking for a tall man with dark, long and curly hair. She remembers that their perp used to wear his hair in a ponytail, so she's looking for a guy with such hairdo, hoping they spot him tonight. Amy could use a win in her life and she would feel really good about herself helping Jake with this case( just to show what a good friend she is, that's all, not to impress him or anything). From time to time somebody approaches her, hoping to get lucky tonight and she politely puts them off. Jake would probably laugh at her being so diplomatic, while telling of a guy who comes over with the lamest pick-up line. She smiles to herself, thinking of him, when she hears some kind of noise from behind. There are some shrieks and screams and in that moment she knows, that Jake has found their suspect.

She rushes towards the source of the noise, squeezing through the crowd, and finds herself in a corridor that probably leads to the nearest exit. The man knows this place, so it's probably the fastest way out. They're just around the corner, Amy can sense that, and she spots them the moment Jake throws himself to take down the perp and afer they both land on the floor. They wrestle a bit on the ground but the man is twice as big as Jake and somehow manages to escape her partner's hold on him. She runs over to them and shouts something like 'Police! Stop!', grabbing her gun, when the perp turns around and hits her with his giant palm right in her face.

The next thing she knows is the cold surface of the ground, where she falls.

 

***

 

Jake is pissed. It's an emotion he's familiar with, though he rarely finds himself in that state. There are moments when he's angry, sure, but usually it's situations connected to family matters, like his dad cheating on his mum, his dad abandoning him or his dad standing him up whenever they're supposed to meet. To be honest, the only trigger for Jake's outrage is his dad, so it's quite new to him to feel that way about something that has nothing to do with Roger.

Because right now Jake Peralta is pissed at the universe for making him work this case, he's pissed at the perp he's been chasing, but first and foremost he's pissed at himself.

If it wasn't for him asking for Santiago's help with this case, Amy wouldn't have been knocked out. If it wasn't for him not being able to stop the perp, Amy wouldn't have been knocked out. If it wasn't for him being distracted by Amy's appealing appearance tonight, he might spot their suspect sooner and Amy wouldn't have been knocked out.

Those thoughts run through his head as he observes Amy from a distance, not really paying attention to the police officers that came to the scene, after he had finally incapacitated the criminal. It's his duty to report to them, but it's way too hard to focus, seeing his friend in that state. She sits on the pavement, talking to some EMT workers and pressing an ice pack to the left side of her face. The bleeding was quite bad, but it doesn't seem her nose is broken. She looks so vulnerable in a baggy NYPD jacket, huddled up and possibly in pain. Jake wishes he could be over with all the procedures and just go to her.

This wasn't his best performance tonight, and he's well aware of that. The only reason he managed to catch the perp was Amy's hardheaded reasoning. And to think it was her, who's been hit on the head. When he saw her on the ground with pool of blood forming beneath her, he froze. She lifted her head after few seconds, the bottom of her face covered in blood, and it wasn't until she screamed at him something like "Jake! The perp!" that he woke up from his trance. It was all happening in slow motion for him - her shouting, him thinking she looks like a well-done zombie cosplay, and eventually him putting his legs into motion and running after the fugitive.

The next thing he knows, he's putting his perp in a police car and he's surrounded with a lot of people, who ask him irrelevant (in his opinion, at least) questions. 

Finally, he's done with the questioning about the case and is free to go. As he approaches Amy, he sees her nodding to whatever the EMT worker said to her and smiling slightly. Jake feels a small wave of relieve, seeing she's able to smile, despite the pain she's in. On the other hand, he feels a bit of anxiety on how her reaction to his presence will be - she's probably disappointed with his actions, he did fuck up. 

Jake forgets all about his worries though, when he sees her smile's widening, as she notices him. He squats in front of her to be in her eye level, taking in her state.

"Hi." his voice is quiet, as if not to startle her.

"Hey." her beautiful smile is still there, as she takes the ice pack away from her face. It's really difficult for Jake not to wince at the sight of a huge purple bruise, covering half of her face. It hurts him so much to know it's him who's responsible for it. "How do you like my new look?" 

She's unbelievable, even after being punched hard on the face, she manages to joke about it.

"You look great." he chuckles, but turns serious when he adds "As always."

Amy seems to be a bit abashed by his comment, cause she drops her gaze to her lap and starts to fiddle nervously with the zipper of her jacket. 

Jake takes a deep breath, preparing himself for getting rid of a huge rock at the bottom of his heart, as he tries to form an passable apology to his dear friend.

"Amy, I'm so sorry. It's my fault, I shouldn't have..."

"Don't you even dare blaming yourself." Amy's brows are furrowed and her gaze hard "You had nothing to with _it_." her voice is stern as she points at her cheek and Jake almost feels as if she reprimands him right now about even thinking that way.

That doesn't change the fact he still feels guilty.

"If I had managed to subdue him sooner, he wouldn't have hurt you." he can't find the strength in him to look her in the eyes, so he settles to look on the ground between his knees.

"Jake... Jake, look at me!" she started softly, but her voice turns bossy when he still doesn't raise his head. He does it eventually, hearing the command in her voice. "You need to listen to me now, and listen carefully. This is not your fault, it is my job to have your back..." she wiggles her finger warningly, when he opens his mouth to cut in "A a a, don't interrupt me, I have something to say." he knows better than to object her, so the only thing he does is an eye-roll with a small smirk. "I can handle myself and I'm well capable of supporting my partner in field. We've been together in worse situations than this one, so please, don't overreact. We're equals, right?" he nods, not really getting where is she going with this. "I feel bad enough for exposing myself like that and being punched, without you feeling pity for me."

Oh, she got it all wrong. He should have seen this coming.

"My God, you're blunt." He can't stop himself from chuckling. "I don't pity you, you dummy. I _worry_ about you. As a friend. But that doesn't change the fact that I see you as an equal, it's just that..." he can't find the right words, without telling too much "somewhere along the way, I don't know when, you became something more than just a partner to me, and I think I just need some time to adjust to the fact that one of my closest friends faces the same danger as I do. And that doesn't mean that I think you're weak or anything, quite the opposite - you're one of the toughest people I know." he can see her eyes begin to water, and the only way he knows to break the tension is cracking a joke. "Hey, don't start crying now, cause I might change my mind."

She laughs wholeheartedly at his tease and he feels such a strong urge to brush her hair from her face, to see her beautiful smile better, he's not able to resist it.

So he does it. He tucks her hair behind her ear, but his hand stays in place, betraying him, and he finds himself brushing her non-bruised cheek with his thumb. He's awestruck, when she leans into his touch and closes her eyes in contentment. She looks so blissful and calm. And apparently it's his doing.

The distance between them is so small, he would only have to bend a bit, to be close enough to kiss her. But her next words, spoken in such a quiet voice, he barely hears them, stop him from moving.

"You're the best friend I could ever wish for."

And even though his heart breaks a bit hearing those words, he still feels happy, knowing he has a special place in her heart. Being someone's friend is also very valuable, right?

She opens her eyes and looks deeply in his, and her vulnerability and exhaustion is obvious in that very moment, so Jake thinks no more of his feelings towards Amy, focusing only on her well-being.

"Let me take you home."

He stands up and offers his hand for her, to help her lift from the pavement. She takes it and he feels a horde of crazy butterflies in his stomach once again this evening, when she never lets go of his hand as they walk to his car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh believe me, I also wanted that kiss to happen, but apparently my Amy is quite blunt when it comes to romantic situations. Sorry about it, yes, I hate myself for that hahah. Don't worry though, she'll come to her senses ;>   
> (I'm gonna be really busy this week, so I don't know if I'll be able to update next week, but I'll do it asap, I promise!)
> 
> As always, kudos and comments well appreciated :)
> 
> Also, come and say hi to me on tumblr, it's @kamekamelea  
> See ya!


	3. Call it what you want to, but it's love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, hope you're still with me! :D thank you for all the feedback, it means so much :)  
> what are you saying? You'd like some peraltiago pining? Oh, so there you go - enjoy! :D  
> (The title of this chapter is inspired by Taylor Swift's "Call it what you want")

Feeling numb and sorrow at the same time is something Amy has trouble to register, as she wakes up to the sound of her alarm clock. When she reaches her cheek with her hand, a shot of pain goes through her nerves which make her remember exactly what has happened the night before. She gets up from her bed cautiously, being conscious enough to know that after having a mild concussion it's very common to get a bit dizzy, and walks up to the mirror.

This doesn't look good.

And by _this_ she means her face. Good thing though that her nose is not as swollen as the night before, as it came back to its regular size. She hates it when she gets punched on the nose. Don't get her wrong, she generally hates the idea of being hit, but it's the worst case scenario, when she gets hit on her nose. She's very protective of her nose.

A nose is right in the center of one's face, and if there is just one tiny little flaw about it, it's what's catches other people's attention first. And Amy was forced to protect her dear, perfect nose right from the beginning - she does have 8 brothers. So, despite her best efforts to guard her precious feature, there were times when she failed.

Like the time when she was chasing Tony, who stole her favorite romantic novel that she kept under the mattress, and in attempt to make an escape, he banged the door right in Amy's face. Or when she was competing against David in a game of dodge ball and they started throwing the ball so hard, he almost broke her precious nose. God, she was angry.

Those were only a few examples of ruthless attacks on Amy's nose, but they had one thing in common. The massive bleeding.

She has such weak blood vessels, she sometimes tends to bleed while blowing her nose too hard. So, just imagine the pool of blood, that has formed after a blow to her face. She saw that horrified look on Jake's face, when she rose her head to scream at him. She felt so subconscious in that moment, it's ridiculous - thinking about appearance in front of her long-time crush is the last thing that should be on her mind in that situation. Jake made her feel better about herself though, when he made a joking comment regarding her look later in the car, driving her home ( _"It was so cool. You looked like Daenerys in the first season, when she was eating a horse's heart."_ ) He sounded so excited about it, she couldn't resist the bubbling laugh that was forcing it's way from her chest.

Jake, sweet Jake.

No time for day-dreaming though, time to focus and prepare for work. However, when she grabs her phone to check it for any new messages, she sees a text from Sarge informing her he's giving her a day off, if she's not feeling very well. She's weighting her options for a while, deciding it may be good for her to have a day off.

What a fool she was.

What do people tend to do, when having a bit of free time? Think. And right now all detective Santiago can think of is her partner. She's been recreating in her mind over and over again the events from last night for the past hour, thinking how intimate and tender were her friend's gestures. The way her body relaxed immediately under his touch and how special she felt hearing his words. For that quick moment she forgot all about their case, the arrest and her bruised face - she solemnly focused on Jake in front of her.

Something has changed last night.

She doesn't know whether it was his speech or simply the touch of his palm on her cheek, but it was a breakthrough. There is no point in denying it anymore.

She _likes_ him. Romantic-stylez. For real.

She comes to this realization while pouring herself a cup of tea, and because of her being awestruck by this newly discovered feelings, there is tea spilled all over the place now. But she's too deep in her thoughts to pay any attention to this little accident. Her eyes are widened with shock, mouth agape and she can't believe how stupid she's been.

Amy's been already aware for some time now, that she has this little crush on her partner, she's not that blunt. She's liked him for a long time. But right now she knows that she _likes_ him. _Likes._ And the only reason she doesn't use a proper description for her feelings is fear. Fear of rejection, heartbreak, awkwardness and the end of their relationship. So, it's easier to think that she _likes_ him, then...

No, she's not even gonna name this feeling. She's gonna shove it to her back of her mind for now and try to figure out what to do with this situation as complicated as it is already.

Should she talk to Jake about her feelings? Tell him how often she thinks about him, wishing 'something could happen between them _romantic-stylez_ '?

Or rather should she shut up, quit her dream job, change her identity even and move to another city to forget all about it?

She hates herself for being so dramatic. It's not like this little epiphany of hers is gonna change anything between them, right? Jake's the one who said everything between them is in the past, he's moved on, they're friends now and things are finally back to normal, so as long as she keeps her cool everything will be fine.

But it's really hard to keep her cool when she remembers the warmth of his palm on her cheek, the soft touch of his fingers in her hair and that wide grin on his handsome face, as he was telling her all those comforting words. Cause he was _worried_.

Ok, these musings need to stop. And the only efficient way to keep her mind off things that Amy knows, is focusing on her job. Duty calls.

 

So, 4 hours in her day off she enters the bullpen with proud posture and her chin up, ready to face any challenges her colleagues have to offer.

First one being Terry expecting her to explain herself as to why is she there in the first place.

"I know Sarge, you've probably filled out the documents for the HR already, but here are all the forms that cancel those, so that you don't have to worry about it." she tells him with a big, satisfied smile, that most people associate with a smile of a teacher's pet, as she hands him a big pile of papers. Terry's brows shot up in surprise and he's way too shocked to further question her presence in the precinct today.

She goes to her desk and the reflection in the disabled monitor reminds her of the state of her face. She didn't even bother covering it with make-up, she would only waste time. Bracing herself for the comments about her bruise, she waits in anticipation for the squad to come back from their lunch-break.

Finally, they all arrive and she's immediately in the spotlight, which she doesn't enjoy at all.

"Wow, Amy, you really outdone yourself today. Did you try to follow James Charles' makeup tutorial again and failed miserably?" Gina's squeaky voice is the first one to stand out from the crowd. Is a jibe even fulfilling when nobody gets the reference? Apparently Gina doesn't care, cause her own joke makes her chuckle.

"Don't you dare insult the _Mother of Dragons_. You haven't seen her eating a horse heart!" of course, Jake had to come back to his joke from last night. Amy really shouldn't have laughed that hard yesterday, when he said it for the first time. That must have encouraged him, and it wasn't that good of a quip (but it made her smile today as well, knowing it's his witty way to defend her from Gina).

"Amy, I'm so sorry this has happened to you. Jake told us all about your heroic performance from last night, you're a true badass." Amy smiles, thanking Charles for his kind words, though she doesn't really find his compliment flattering. At least not until Rosa chimes in.

"Of course, she's a badass. Have you ever doubted it?" her tone is stern, as well as her gaze and she punches poor Boyle on the arm. 

Amy is so touched by her actions, she almost sheds a tear (metaphorically speaking of course, she would _never_ cry in front of Diaz).

 

They talk for a while and Amy can tell they're really concerned about her condition, even Gina giver her a recommendation for an ointment (which is followed by another taunt _"Nobody wants to look at it for too long, Santiago._ ). When they go back to their desks, having work to do, she finds herself suffocating a bit, left alone with Jake. He sits in front of her and offers her a gentle, yet playful, smile.

"So, Santiago, couldn't stand a day off, huh? Honestly, if a doctor's instruction is not able to keep you from work, I don't know what is."

_Fantasizing about a certain Jake Peralta seems to work well for me as a distraction._

"For real though, shouldn't you get some rest? You seemed pretty shaken up last night." she totally ignores his concerns as something else catches her attention, while ogling her partner.

"Why are you wearing a plaid shirt?" she points her finger in his direction, brows furrowed.

Did she really just say it out loud?

Jake is clearly what is she's referring to, but doesn't miss a chance to tease her a bit.

"Since when are you so interested in my clothing choices? Are you STALKING me, Santiago?" the pure terror on his face makes Amy want to chuckle, but she has a comeback to make.

"Just hoped to see you in that purple polyester shirt again. It really brings up the goofiness in your eyes."

"Goofiness, Santiago? What are you, 5? You can do better than this." he's now laughing at her wholeheartedly, and it surprises Amy to no end that's she's not upset about it at all. It's just good to hear his laugh. He eventually calms down and pretending to wipe tears from his eyes, he adds in a serious tone "I'll have you know, that you get through to me yesterday with your little rant about my misdemeanor. So, the first thing I did when I came home last night was my laundry." there is no trace of the playfulness on his face now and he seems a bit sheepish even, trying to avoid her gaze.

She's in utter shock. She didn't really pay attention to their banter in her apartment, she would've never thought Jake actually took her teasing seriously. The feeling of guilt increases as their conversation goes further.

"But you must have stayed all night to do this."

He doesn't answer this directly and shots her a smile that doesn't really reach his eyes.

"I guess the _next girl I end up with_ will have to thank you for civilizing me."

This is bad. She really did upset him, didn't she? She feels so bad about it, seeing him hurt like that. But it's really unbelievable for Amy, that this comment had such an impact on him. She's so concerned about it, she even ignores the slight pang of jealousy at the mention of a hypothetical girl in his life in the future.

She's opening her mouth to rectify her words from yesterday or form some kind of apology, but Terry comes to their desks with some bad news.

"There's been an B&E in Miss Evans's neighbourhood. And from what I've been told, the technique of the burglar has been exactly the same as the last one."

Jake looks at her with a confusion written all over his face, and she's sure her expression mirrors his.

The criminal responsible for "the last one" is in their cell, so... who did it?

 

***

 

It's been such a crappy day for detective Jake Peralta.

First and foremost, he's sleep deprived because of the stupid laundry, that he was doing till 3am. And what was even the point of it? To impress his dream girl? That's like the worst move ever. Good thing though, she did notice his fresh and clean shirt, so maybe his efforts weren't all for nothing. He was keeping it together until noon, when he still thought he's gonna go home on time and crush on his couch, but when it turned out their perp (or at least one of the two) is walking freely committing crimes, he knew he's not gonna have this luxury soon. To make things worst, he had to sit all day in front of his long time crush (who apparently did not feel the same way), whose bruise on the half of her face reminded him of what a bad cop and partner he was the day before. Don't get him wrong, he was really happy, butterflies and all, when Amy showed up unexpectedly in the precinct today, especially when it came out that their case is not over, but it was a hard day and he could not help but feel grumpy.

His shift finished a few hours ago, but it doesn't seem he's gonna leave his desk soon. His eyes are itchy, neck sore and morales down. His case's in a dead end and it's not even an exciting one, just a boring B&E. Oh, and he's gonna die alone.

It's just a lot to take in after a sleepless night.

"Jake!" he brightens up a bit, hearing his name coming from her beautiful mouth. It makes him remember he's not just a partner "Peralta" for her now, but rather a close friend. And least that's what he likes to think.

"What can I do for you, Ames?" he turns on his chair to face her, as she emerges from the break room. He can see papers scattered all over the small table in the room.

"Don't get your hopes up, but I think I may have a lead!" she's so excited about it, he doesn't find it in him to slap her down. "Remember the other fingerprints you told me about?" he nods, suddenly intrigued as to what she has to say "I know we ignored it, cause there was no match in the database and Jennifer had some friends over the night before the break-in. But I looked over the report from the scene once again, and those fingerprints were also on a mug. And when you hold a mug, you usually touch the surface with all of your fingers, right? But there is no fingerprint from the ring finger." she ends with excitement dripping from her voice, but Jake is lost.

"Okay?" he's really confused at this point, he doesn't keep up. "What does it have to do with our case, Ames?"

"If it turns out, that on the other spots, where those fingerprints were found, the one from the ring finger is also missing, it may be that our suspect is fingerless. That's a specific feature!" that is probably a very important piece of information, but Jake couldn't care less. Because Jake is having a little epiphany right now.

That's the moment Jake Peralta knows, that he's never been more attracted to anybody in his life. There she is, Amy Santiago, standing in front of him with a HUGE bruise covering the half of her pretty face and he thinks, he's never seen anything more beautiful. Her hair is down and disheveled a bit, her cheeks are flushed from the excitement (or at least the one that is not purple) and she looks at him with her big brown eyes in anticipation and it hits him in that moment how hard he's fallen for Amy Santiago. It's not just some crush he developed for his attractive partner, who sits across from his desk. This is _for realz_.

There he was, in the biggest hole of his bleak existence and here she comes - his gorgeous savior from his misery. Both in the work-related sense, as she probably just made a breakthrough in their case, and the romantic-related sense. She's his swollen-face angel.

Realizing he probably looks pretty dumb with his mouth agape, staring at Amy in awe, taking in all of her awesomeness, he finally manages to mumble out a coherent sentence. 

"I may be delirious from the lack of sleep" the huskiness of his voice surprises him even, but how can you blame the poor lad for his mouth to go dry after his little epiphany?" but I think you may be actually the most brilliant detective here, Ames."

She shots him a wide and proud smile and tucks her hair behind both of her ears.

Wait, what?

Did he just see Amy doing the famous _double tuck_ at HIM?

He can't believe it, yet there it is - her hair behind her ears, as a solid evidence for what has happened just a moment ago. He can hear his heartbeat and he suddenly feels very dizzy. It also became kind of hard to breathe.

"Cool. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool. Great police work there, Santiago. No doubt. Would you excuse me for a sec?" he leaves his desk, ignoring her confused gaze and goes to the men's room.

The moment he closes the door behind him, he starts jumping and pumping his fists in the air, doing some kind of lunatic dance of happiness.

_Amy double-tucked for him. There is still hope._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a ray of sunshine in Jake's love life hahah :D I was cruel for him last chapter, hope I've made it up to him :D next chapter is probably going to be last one (but when I started writing it, I thought it's gonna be just 3 chapters long, so who knows) and hopefully I'll post it sometime next week (not sure tho, those exams are killing me).  
> Also:  
> \- i feel like this chapter is about nothing really, and yet it's about 3000 words... I should make it more meaty, don't I? xd just be honest, I really appreciate the feedback :D  
> \- don't know if that whole thing with fingerprints it's accurate and makes any sense, that's just my poor attempt to add some plot aside from the overwhelming peraltiago pining xd  
> \- ok, so I used the word "lad", don't judge me  
> \- are here any beauty content fans? :D this James Charles reference is for you :D 
> 
> Anyway, thanks once again for reading this and commenting and leaving kudos - this is so great, and I'm so happy every time someone leaves a sign. It's really great to know that you enjoy my scribbles, so leave kudos, comments and come talk to me on tumblr (tumblr URL: @kamekamelea), I'd love to chat :)


	4. I don't care what consequence it brings, I've been a fool for lesser things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time... I know, I'm so sorry - hope this chapter will repay you the long wait! Enjoy!  
> (The title comes from Billy Joel's song "Longest Time")

The moment Charles has noticed Amy sitting alone in the breakroom, he took his chance. She spent most of yesterday's evening with Jake, so if there's someone who knows what's up with Boyle's best friend, it's probably her.

She's sipping her coffee, completely focused on the documents laying on the table in front of her and Charles feels bad about disturbing her, but he's never patient when it comes to any matter concerning Jake. And the reason Charles is so eager to find out what's going on, it's his best friend weird behavior.

"Amy" Charles looks suspiciously around, checking if no one is eavesdropping on them, like an old lady ready to gossip with her friends.

When Amy rises her head from the task at hand, with a curious and a bit irritated look on her - still a bit bruised - face, Boyle takes it as an invitation to sit next to her, ignoring the "irritation" part. He lowers his head in Amy's direction ready to gossip about Jake. It's the perfect opportunity, Jake went to the interrogation room in order to try again squeezing some information out of that perp, he and Amy caught two days ago. Boyle has no idea how long it's going to take, so he has to cut to the chase quickly.

"What happened last night?" he whispers.

"What do you mean?" Amy's face shows nothing but confusion, and Charles gets annoyed by her not knowing exactly what he means, as if it's not obvious from his actions he's asking about Jake.

"Jake's all chirpy and giddy today and I _desperately_ need to know why. I assumed something must have happened last night."

Amy's eyes widen a bit at Boyle's words, and that sparks his interest.

"Like what? What do you think happened?" her voice is weirdly strained and she's avoiding eye contact.

"Well, from many years of me observing Jake I would say his behaviour matches the one after him having sex. And a good one." Charles's aware he sounds way too enthusiastic about it, but he's not going to be ashamed of it.

Amy's eyes widen even more and she is opening and closing her mouth as if trying to say something but failing. When she turns all red and starts panting, Charles suddenly gets an idea that makes him even more excited (and he was already very high up on Boyle's excitement scale).

"OH MY GOD. YOU TWO LOVE BIRDS HAD SEX LAST NIGHT!" all whispering and conspiracy forgotten, Charles almost shouts in happiness, covering his face with his hands.

"What?! Charles, no! Shut up! Why would you think that? Why would you think I'd want that? I don't!" Amy's panicked voice doesn't convince Charles at all.

He knows what he's seen in her eyes just a second ago and it wasn't the look of aversion at the thought, he'd seen so many times before whenever he made any comment regarding Jake and Amy. Charles is sure the smugness he's feeling right now shows on his face, but he's not going to fight it. He's way too happy.

"Charles, we did _not_ have sex last night. We stayed up late working a case, there was a breakthrough and we focused solemnly on that. We went home to get some sleep and came back this morning and have been working ever since." her teeth are clenched and she seems angry. "And I don't know why I'm telling you all this in the first place! If you want to know, with whom Jake had sex last night - ask him!" she's no longer in control of the volume of her voice, so she hisses her last words quite loudly. And that lures Gina.

"So, little Jakey got laid last night, huh?" she stands in the doorway with a proud smirk on her face, resting nonchalantly on the door frame. "Who is the lucky lady? Oh, Amy, is it you? How was it to lose your virginity as a 38-year-old woman?"

"I'm not 38, Gina, I'm actually younger than you." both Charles and Gina completely ignore Amy's comment and continue the more important issue, that is the gossiping about Jake's private life.

"No, it wasn't Amy." Charles says, disappointed and angry.

"Maybe it was the girl from the case?" Gina chimes in, wiggling her eyebrows.

"You mean Jennifer?!" Amy's sudden indignation startles both her converses, and the moment she realizes it, she cringes.

_Huh, that's intriguing_.

All of a sudden, behind Gina, appears Rosa with a mysterious look on her face.

"I don't think it was Jennifer." she says in a calm voice and walks away as unexpectedly as she walked up.

Charles can't even find the right words to describe the happiness he's feeling from this conversation. Here they are, all discussing Jake's sex life.

They're like a real family now.

(Or at least a Boyle family.)

The only thing that upsets Charles to no end is the fact, that it wasn't Amy, Jake spent the night with. There is nothing Charles wishes more than for his best friend to be happy with the girl he's in love with. Because Charles knows it, and he's known it for some time now. He's not sure Jake's aware of it, and that's what makes Charles so sad - that his best friend tries to compensate it by having sex with someone else.

Seems like he needs to have _the talk_ with him again.

And there is also the newly occurred matter of Amy's weird behaviour today. She usually doesn't get flustered that easily .

Maybe it's not Jake, Charles needs to _talk_ to.

 

***

 

If morning was hell for Amy Santiago, there's no way she's going to survive the afternoon.

She's about to start a door-to-door with Jake, in Jennifer's neighbourhood, hoping they find someone who's seen a person missing a finger in the last weeks, but the moment they get in the car Jake asks her a very uncomfortable question.

"Do you happen to know why everybody in the precinct thinks I had sex last night? Like, just 5 minutes ago, Derek from downstairs _high-fived_ me saying _" Was it good?"_ " Jake makes a face to mock the officer's demeanour and Amy surprises herself with a snort. "It was the grossest interaction I've ever had." he shudders, as if trying to shake off the memory of said picture.

He puts the vehicle into motion and Amy is glad his gaze is focused on the road, cause she feels her cheeks burning. What is she supposed to say to him? That she and the rest of the squad were discussing unceremoniously detective Peralta's sex life in the break room, where many ears were able to listen? No way. On the other hand she can't find the guts to completely lie to him, so she decides to sell Charles down the river. It is him who is responsible for all this mess, anyway.

"Well...umm..." her sputtering catches Jake's attention and she hates that it causes him to smirk.

"Do you have anything to do with this, Santiago?" he obviously means it as a joke only, but because she's on the edge whenever he talks to her since her little epiphany, she loses it.

"It was Charles! He was the one who started it!" she freezes in her seat, turned towards Jake as the realization settles in for good that she indeed said those words, waiting for his reaction.

And he's taken aback by her outburst as well.

Is there a tint of pink at the top of his ear?

"What exactly did Charles start?" his voice sounds weird as he weighs his words.

"He asked me about last night, cause he believes you had sex last night given your chirpy attitude today, and thought I might've known something." she knows she's beet red and it is beyond her comprehension how did she end up having this kind of conversation with Jake. "And one thing led to another, and suddenly there is a bunch of random people speculating who was the lucky girl." she rolls her eyes at the thought. It was such a ridiculous situation.

"Why did you assume it was a girl?" Jake snickers quietly. "I'm open for diversity." now he laughs wholeheartedly, seeing the perplexed - as Amy can only assume - look on her face. He's having way too much fun with this and she's not liking it in one bit. But this doesn't stop it from asking her next question.

"Is Charles... right?" where did she find the courage to ask this question she'll never know, but it was bugging her from the moment Charles made the assumption.

Jake gives her an odd look before answering and she feels her insides twist with anxiety. 

"No, I did not have sex last night, to ease your creepy nosiness, Santiago." the smile on his face is almost fond, and gives her a feeling as if he knows something that she doesn't. "But something did happen last night that made me very happy." he's fully grinning now, there's a spark in his eyes and he does look utterly happy in that moment. Amy thinks he's never looked more appealing than right there in this car, with one arm resting on the stick, the other one on the wheel, beaming radiantly and looking at her from the corner of his eye.

She averts her gaze with difficulty, embarrassed by the thoughts that run through her head, fidgety he's able to read her like a book (which is not far from the truth) and looks through the window trying to calm down her heavy breathing.

They don't speak for the rest of the car ride.

 

 

They've been knocking on random doors for 2 hours now and Amy is really close to giving up. When she came up with the idea about the missing finger print, she was full of hope. When the lab confirmed they only distinguished 19 different fingerprints, she was overjoyed. And now, when this clue is not leading them anywhere, she's devastated.

"I need sugar." Jake runs his hand over his face in a exasperated manner.

They enter a bodega, across the street from the robbed apartment, and Jake buys himself some candy. Not to waste any time, Amy asks some customers about a stranger with missing finger but, as expected, nobody recalls a thing. Jake is waving at her from the exit, motioning her to leave, when she spots a camera above him.

"Excuse me - does it work?" she points at the thing, asking the counter clerk. They checked all the cameras from this area, but she doesn't remember a footage from this store. The elderly man shrugs but leads them to back room anyway. He's not very eager to help, as he doesn't speak much English, and all he does is throw a big box with tapes on the table and then leaves them to it. The device is that old it uses tapes. No wonder they haven't seen the footage.

"Ready for "The enchanting deli tales" marathon, partner?"

Amy really appreciates Jake's attempt to lighten the mood, but seeing this pile of tapes, not marked with any date or other info, just made Santiago's stomach sink.

This is going to be fun.

 

 

At 10 pm, the man, who turned out to be an immigrant from a Slavic country (or so Amy assumes), demonstrably shows them to leave. They don't understand a word he's saying but given his hostile attitude, he's eager to leave his work place. And for him to do so, they need to take off as well.

"We're not even halfway through!" Amy whines quietly, eyeing Jake incredulously.

He's examining the cables attached to the device and moves the tape-player around, as if looking for something.

"I think I'll be able to plug it into my TV. If the guy lets us take it, we can finish at my place."

The rush of excitement she's feeling is absolutely uncalled for, at the mention of going over to _his place_.

Apparently the man is keen to do anything as long as they leave this place, and so he lends them the device.

 

 

As they arrive at Jake's apartment, she throws herself on his bed with a loud sigh that instantly turns into a squeak.

"God, this mattress is uncomfortable." she hears Jake chuckling in the bathroom. "And so are these clothes." she takes off her blazer, looking enviously at Jake who just appeared in the door frame of his bathroom, already in his sweatpants and a comfortably looking t-shirt. While she is stuck in her inflexible pantsuit and a dress shirt. All she can do to make herself a bit less uncomfortable is taking off her gray blazer.

Jake walks past her, heading for the kitchen, where there is some takeout food waiting for them to eat, and only when he's turned with his back to her, she catches his offer.

"I can give you something to change." his voice is weirdly strangled and she wishes she could see his face. "And, because you're a special guest in this household, I'll even make sure it's something _clean_." and he's back to his goofy demeanour, turning to her with a silly grin gracing his features.

She mocks his behaviour, gasping dramatically.

"What have I done to deserve such honour?"

"I'm just trying to rub that laundry thing on you. I'm really proud of myself." and the smirk that appears on his handsome face confirms it. Amy gets lost for a moment once again today, looking at him, being surprised how attractive she finds him just standing there leaning back on the counter in a relaxed pose, with his arms crossed on his chest, that makes his biceps being exposed from the short sleeve that have rolled up a bit. And that smug look on his face - _oh, mama_.

Because of her mouth suddenly going dry, she feels the need to clear her throat in order to bring her mind back to reality and continue their banter.

"And you should be. You entered a territory known only to responsible adults."

"Title of your sex tape."

Suddenly a burst of giggles erupts from her chest, that she's incapable of controlling. With closed eyes, she covers her mouth with her hand, and when a snort leaves her mouth, she hears Jake has joined her in the laughter.

How ridiculous it probably looks from the outside, she can only imagine.

She feels like she hasn't laughed so genuinely for ages. And maybe it's true. It's the kind of laugh, that makes a person shut their eyes in order to stop the merry tears from flowing, that causes a stomach ache and a hiccup.

Yes, she can't remember when was the last time she let herself be so carelessly cheerful.

And she realizes, somewhere in the back of her mind as she cools down from the giggles, that if the joke has left anybody else's mouth, she wouldn't react this way. But she did - because she is sitting in Jake's apartment, on his bed and he was offering her a change of clothes in the most comical fashion.

Because he is Jake. Her childish partner, a friend with the biggest heart and grin.

Because there is nowhere else she'd prefer to be right now.

Because there is nobody else, with whom she feels as at ease. And suddenly she knows what she wants - to spend every night like that, on his uncomfortable mattress, with some takeout on the counter and smiling and laughing for no reason at all.

What scares her immeasurably is that if she wants for it to happen she needs to act on it.

 

***

 

After setting up the TV, Jake put another tape into the player. He positioned the TV on the floor, in front of the foot of his bed, but in order for them to see clearly, they still will have to sit on the floor, to be as close to the screen as possible. And because of that, Jake prepared a cozy spot full of cushions, for them to be comfortable.

Now that he looks at it, it looks almost _romantic_. He feels his stomach twisting at the single thought of Amy noticing the same thing.

_Yes, there is nothing more romantic than going over an endless amount of surveillance footage, you moron._

The stack of tapes is still very tall and it's going to be a few more hours before they play them all. However, if this will help them get the face of their criminal, Jake is willing to give up a few hours of his sleep.

This case is killing him. He can't wait for it to be over.

The screech of the bathroom's door catches his attention and he sees Amy timidly approaching him. She's wearing his sweatpants and _The Simpsons_ t-shirt, he gave her, and Jake can't help but stare. There is just something mesmerizingly adorable about the girl of his dreams wearing his clothes.

"I look like a late 90s rapper, all I'm missing is a cap." she sounds gutted, but there is a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"And a hoodie" he adds, throwing at her said piece of clothing. She catches it, giving him a questioning look "besides, you'll probably get cold in no time, so..."

He receives a grateful smile from her and senses his cheeks are getting warm.

Great, now he's blushing.

The warmth he feels, only increases when she sits next to him on the cushions, surprisingly close. God, he feels like a teenager all over again. The spots where their thighs and arms are touching burn him and there is a spark that goes through his nerves, when their fingers meet as he passes her the food.

Jake has no idea, how is he going to focus solemnly on the footage, with Amy sitting right there next to him.

But a man can try.

 

He fails.

It's been 3 hours of footage-watching and Jake hasn't register a thing from it. If he was to say, what he does in fact remember from those hours, he'd say Amy's hair, Amy's lips, Amy's 'frowning in concentration' face, Amy's smell, Amy's touch, Amy's...

Whoops, he's been caught staring, he realizes, when Amy turns her head and looks at him with her big chocolate eyes.

"Jake, are you okay?" she's squinting her eyes suspiciously and Jake's breath hitches.

"Mhmokaywhy?" the incoherent mumble that leaves his mouth causes Amy's frown to deepen.

"Just a minute ago, there was a guy on the video in a T-shirt with a big John McClane face on the back and you didn't say a thing."

"He had the limited edition _Die Hard_ T-shirt from 1991?!" Jake shifts his head so fast in the direction of the screen, his neck cracks.

"I don't know if that's the one...it did kind of look worn out, I guess. But - more importantly - why haven't you been paying attention? You fell asleep, didn't you?" the look Amy gives him, with the curled lip and eyes just waiting to be rolled, reminds him of a displeased parent.

"No, I didn't! I swear. I just got... a bit... distracted."

"With what?" and now she is crossing her arms on her chest and her eyes narrow in annoyance.

Jake gulps.

"You." it comes out more like a question than an affirmative, because he gets startled he said it out loud in the first place.

Even though Jake is abashed, his eyes don't leave Amy's face for a second, eager to discover her reaction.

At first, her brows shoot up, her eyes go big and she opens her mouth. Then she closes it. And then opens again. 

As it turns out, Amy Santiago portraying a fish is a very charming sight for Jake Peralta, causing him to smirk fondly.

"From now on, I promise, I'm gonna pay attention to the footage only. Can we please, go back to that and forget I said anything?" he chuckles nervously, averting his gaze from Amy, trying to focus on the image on the screen.

"No."

And just milliseconds after Amy's objection, Jake registers a few things - one, there is an additional weight upon him; two, his back just hit the floor; three - Amy Santiago is kissing him fiercely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, finally right? took them long enough...  
> :D  
> I know this was supposed to be the last chapter, but I kind of changed my mind - the next one is gonna be the last (I guess hahah). I'm so sorry for the long wait, but life's been hectic and I wanted this to be of good quality so I took my time :) hope you forgive me  
> If you're still here, reading this and (hopefully) enjoying - please let me know <3 my heart flutters at the sight of kudos and comments :)  
> Also, you can find me on tumblr - it's @kamekamelea - come and say hi! :)


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